DOES ANTENATAL CARE INFLUENCE POSTPARTUM HEALTH BEHAVIOR - EVIDENCE FROM A COMMUNITY-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN RURAL TAMIL-NADU, SOUTH-INDIA

Objective To study the association between attendance to antenatal car e and postpartum health behaviour among women in rural Tamil Nadu, Sou th India. Design Community based, cross-sectional questionnaire study of 30 randomly selected areas served by health subcentres. Setting Rur al parts of Salem District, Tamil Nadu, South India. Population 1321 w omen who were delivered in the six months before the questionnaire-bas ed interview. Main outcome measures Feeding of colostrum, time of init iation of breastfeeding and maternal dietary habits during the first m onth postpartum. Results The median number of antenatal visits was fou r (range 0-51; lower quartile 3, upper quartile 7)., The fifth month o f pregnancy was the median time for the initiation of antenatal care. Pregnant women 1. who had a large number of antenatal care visits, 2, who initiated antenatal care in the first trimester or 3. who reported having received information about breastfeeding were more likely to f eed colostrum (odds ratio 1.48; 95% CI 1.06 to 2.07), (odds ratio 1.40 ; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.85), (odds ratio 1.66; 95% CI 1.29 to 2.14, respect ively). Only women who reported having received information about brea stfeeding were more likely to initiate early breastfeeding (odds ratio 1.81; 95% CI 1.34 to 2.43). Use of antenatal care facilities was not associated with maternal postpartum dietary habits. Conclusions A larg e number of women attended antenatal care in the study area, but anten atal care had a limited effect on postpartum health behaviour. As ante natal care is considered an essential part of primary health care and takes up considerable resources, we recommend further research to expl ain the gap between the intentions of antenatal care and the actual ou tcome of such care.